1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a hull for a boat having a centrally located V-shaped keel portion beginning at the bow of the boat and flaring into a flat pad, the keel having strake and chine pairs disposed on either side of the keel portion. A first strake is disposed at an outboard edge of a deadrise adjacent the keel portion. A first chine joins the first strake to a second dead rise. A second strake is disposed at an outboard edge of the second deadrise. A second chine joins the second strake to a third dead rise and a third strake is disposed at an outboard edge of the third deadrise. At least one of the chines is a flat chine, one is a reverse chine and one is also a combination chine which further comprises a flat pad superimposed upon a reverse chine. As used hereinafter, a strake or a strake pair which is commonly used to denote a line of planing in a wooden ship's side denotes a planar surface running lengthwise along the hull bottom providing lift or acting as the planing surface. The chine is the juncture of the side of the hull with the bottom in a V-shaped hull, however, the term "chine" also refers to any juncture between hull portions where a hull portion makes a sharp turn upward at the edge of the strake toward the side of the boat. Herein, a chine refers to a chine pair disposed on both sides of the centerline of hull. The deadrise is the angle that the bottom of the boat makes with an imaginary horizontal line representing the waterline. The dead rise may be a constant angle but usually varies along a given surface from the stem to the stern. A standard V-shaped hull design has one deadrise sloping away from the keel and one chine at the juncture of the deadrise with the side of the boat hull.
2. Prior Art Statement
Small boats, particularly those pleasure craft twelve feet or less in length, are subject to certain additional regulations not required of larger craft. One, in particular, states that the craft must negotiate a one hundred eighty degree turn at fill throttle without backing off the throttle. Negotiating such a turn may cause a craft to side-slip through the water, porpoise fore and aft and/or chine walk by yawing right to left while also rolling from side to side. Any of these reactions may also result in discharge of one or more occupants in the craft. Thus, the design of the hull of a boat is critical in alleviating adverse handling characteristics and achieving ride comfort while complying with all boating regulations including the high speed turn. Though the high speed turn requirement does not exist in craft longer than twelve feet L.O.A, (overall length), turning control of these larger craft has been attempted.
For instance, it is known to provide a design for a larger craft boat hull having chine portions joining an upper hull portion to a lower hull portion wherein the chine portions have a substantially horizontal portion extending outwardly from the edges of the lower hull and a chine lip portion extending downwardly at a reverse direction from 12 to 18 degrees from the horizontal. For instance, see the U.S. Pat. No. 4,193,370 issued on Mar. 18, 1980 to Harry L. Schoell.
Additionally, it is known to provide a V-shaped hull design with improved turning characteristics for a larger boat wherein the hull has a plurality of chine pairs comprising downwardly directed wedges extending fore and aft on opposite sides of a centerline keel portion wherein the keel portion comprises a forward V-section merging with a concave planing pad via an upwardly and rearwardly directed transition area. For instance, see the U.S. Pat. No. 4,233,920 issued on Nov. 18, 1980, to Wood, et al.
It is also known to provide a hull design with improved turning characteristics for deep V-hull larger craft wherein the hull design has a planar central running surface extending fore and aft and a concave outboard running surface extending fore and aft wherein the central running surface is separated from the outboard running surface by downwardly directed wedge shaped chines. For instance, see the U.S. Pat. No. 4,361,102, issued Nov. 30, 1982 on to Wood, et al.
It is known to provide a hull design with improved turning characteristics for a deep V-shaped boat hull wherein the hull has two reflex or reverse chine pairs separated by a second deadrise having an angle greater than a first deadrise between the keel and the first reflex chine pair. For instance, see U.S. Pat. No. 4,813,365 issued Mar. 21, 1989 to Lindstrom, et al.
Finally, it is known to provide a water jet saucer having a low beam to length ratio wherein the jet saucer has a substantially rounded bottom and is devoid of lift strakes, deadrises or chine pairs. For instance, see the U.S. Pat. No. 5,375,551 issued on Dec. 27, 1994 to Lunter, et al.